Anyone who’s ever owned a car would be familiar with the trusty Haynes manual. It’s your go-to tome when things go wrong. Whether it’s changing a fuse, adjusting the lights, or stripping down the engine, the company has kept people on the straight and narrow and helped them avoid costly garage bills for something that one can do on the drive with some affordable tools. Until you screw up, of course, then it’s back to the professionals with a sheepish look on your face.
Now the company (which started publishing these guides back in 1956) have given us what we want, and more importantly, what we need – a handy guide to servicing and maintaining our Enterprise. Well, to be fair, this edition covers all the Starfleet ships from 2151 onwards, so whether your NX-01 is in need of a warp speed overhaul or your shields are constantly down on your NCC-1701 because you’ve taken one too many photon hits, then you can save valuable credits and do it yourself.
Well, we jest, of course. This book is far from the dry and boring technical babble that drivers’ have to wade through. Instead, we get a fascinating history of each ship, illustrated with images from the various Star Trek shows and some brilliantly detailed diagrams.
There is even an easy-to-follow flow chart image helping the confused to understand parallel universes, and sections on warp propulsion and how transporter systems work. Little Timmy might not necessarily be able to build on in the garden shed, but at least he’ll have a grasp of it when it comes to re-watching the films and the TV episodes.
Where the Enterprise Owners’ Workshop Manual shines is it brings together a wealth of information that has been built up over fifty years of Star Trek’s history. All the references to each ship, shuttle and flight deck will begin to make more sense to those who haven’t already studied the subject in depth. And for those who have, they might even learn a few new titbits of information that’ll help them decipher all that babble that Scotty comes out with when he’s making excuses for why the Enterprise is letting the crew down and putting them in jeopardy. It’s very easy to dip into, and certainly a worthwhile read for new fans who would like to get up to (warp) speed with Starfleet tech before the upcoming series.
An essential purchase for Trek fans, although we have no doubt there are some who would have loved it to be a spec-heavy collection of mechanical data and a ‘how to’ guide to fixing the ships.
USS ENTERPRISE OWNERS’ WORKSHOP MANUAL / AUTHOR: BEN ROBINSON, MARCUS RILEY / PUBLISHER: J. H. HAYNES & CO LTD / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
